Torsion indicating device



Sept. 4, 1951 E. T. HOWES TORSION INDICATING DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 19, 1945 F/GZI.

. INVENTOR. EDGAR r HOWES 4,62 ATTORNEYS Sept; 4, 1951 E. T. HOWES TORSION INDICATING DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 19, 1945 Patented Sept. 4, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE TORSION 'INDICATING DEVICE Edgar T; Howes, Pasadena, Calif.

Application December 19, 1945; Serial-No. 635,915

7 Claims. (Cl. 73-.-1'36) This invention relates to the measurement of torsional forces, such asthe torque on a rotating shaft. It is especially applicable to measuring the torque on a heavy power shaft.

The principal object is'to provide a simple and effective means by which increments of torsion loadproduce easily. ascertainableincrements on an indicator.

I carry out my invention by attaching to the shaft whose torque is to be measured, an auXiliary shaft which I use as a gauge indicator to which I attach theindicating means. I have found that when the gauge element, for example, a length of shaft, ordinarily of smaller diameter than the power shaft, is attached to the power shaft at two places, the twist due to the torsion load on the power shaft is imparted to the gauge shaft, and' that the gaugeshaft undergoes the same angular twist per unit length as the power shaft. between the torsionloadon the power shaft and the torsion load on the gauge'shaft, so long as the gauge shaft is of small diameter relative-to that of the power shaft.

I make use of this principle by rigidly attaching to the-shaftw-hose torqueisto be measured, a pair-of supportingelements or brackets at a spaced distance a partlongitudin'ally along the shaft; and I support the gaugeshaft at these supports so that the gauge shaft lies-uniformly spaced and parallel to the main shaft. I rigidly fasten the gauge shaft-to each of the brackets so that when the mainshaft undergoes an angular twist along itsileng'th which lies between the two i brackets, the gauge shaft. is. correspondingly twisted.

From the twist of the gaugeshaft; I mayob- .tain an indication. of. the. torsion. stress in the main shaftin-anysuitable mannenfor example,

.by'measuring-the. strain of the gauge shaft by at .suitable. strain gauge, "or .by measuring the change.ofmagneticproperties when the gauge .shaft is of amagnetic material.

Although .there areseveralways of producing the desired indicationof strain. or stress at the: gauge shaft,- I prefer to .producethe indication by means ofanuindicating circuitof the type shown in-myco-pendingapplications Serial No.

551,-598- filed August 28, 1-944, entitled Stress -Measuremena. which. is now abandoned, and *Serial No.629-,850 filed November 20, 1945, en-

titled LoadRespensive. Device, executed by me on Furthermore, there is a proportionality 2 to change of. magnetic properties produced by the load; and my application Serial No.- 551,598 particularly shows the measurement of torsion load by such circuits.

My present application is an improvement: over the method oftorsion measurement shown in said application Serial No.'551,598 in that in the present application I=make use of the gauge shaft or red attached to 'themain shaft. The indicationsof the'i-ndicator may 'be calibrated to read the torsion stressat the gauge shaft; and as there is a relationship between-the stress at the gauge-shaftand the stress at themain shaft, the torsion stress at: the main shaft can be computed after first measuring the stress at the gauge shaft. According to a preferred feature of my invention, I provide an adjustable bracketing or fastening arrangement so that the gauge shaft can be fitted to different sizes of main shafts.

' My invention. will be better understood from the following detailedjdescriptiontaken in "conjunction with the accompanying drawings of which:

"Fig. 1 shows a construction of a gauge shaft upon a main shaft according to my invention;

in Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 shows a modification of the shaft bracket arrangement shown in Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 shows B--H curves of permeability changes under different torsion loads on one of my gauge shafts;

Fig. '7 shows a bridge type ofmeasuringcircuit like that shown inmy application Serial No. 551,598 by which electrical -measurements are made to furnish the load indication; and

Fig. 8 shows the application of:- a' strain" gauge to the gauge shafts of Figs. 2 and 3 instead of the measuring coils showriin Figs. 2 and 3.

Referring to Fig. 1, there is shown a length of shaft H), for example, a-section- 'of a power shaft, adapted to carry a torsion load. There is attached at one side ofshaft II! a pair of rigid supports or brackets II and H. A gauge shaft i3 of smaller diameter than the main shaft is attached at each end to the respective brackets H and I 2. The arrangement is such that absolute rigidity is maintained and the gauge shaft 13 is rigidly held at a uniform distance from the axis of the main shaft l and parallel to it. The rigidity of the construction may be had in any suitable way, for example, by welding the brackets to the two shafts.

When torque is applied to the main shaft H), for example, by holding one end of it fixed and applying a twisting force to the other, or by driving a load from the shaft while rotating it, the shaft undergoes an angular twist according to the load. For the distance I between the two supports II and I2, the main shaft will twist through an angle 0 which will depend on the load. This will cause bracket 1 l to move through the same angle 0, relative to its original position, to a new position shown by the dotted lines at I I. In consequence, the gauge shaft l3 will assume a complex twist, somewhat in the shape shown by the dotted line l3. In addition to undergoing the linear twist shown, the shaft l3 will 1.

the main shaft l0, and neglecting the shear absorbed by the auxiliary shaft, then where da: is an increment of the length Z. If d0 and a. of Fig. 1 are expressed in circular measurement, the arc AB, which is the arc of twist of the main shaft, is

AB=rd0 (2) and also AB=ad32 (3) It follows that:

rdfi According to Hookes law, the deformation within the elastic limit is proportional to the stress S which produces the deformation. Thus, the modulus of shear G, which is a constant, is the ratio of stress to deformation, i. e.

and

The shear stress varies at different distances from the center of the shaft and is a maximum at the circumference. This maximum shear stress S5 at the radius r of the main shaft is given by the equation from which it follows that 4 Since 0 is the angle of twist for both the main shaft and the gauge shaft,

S.Z S,l are 9) and G! I e-- S S, T G (10) where SS is the maximum shear of themain shaft. S's=the maximum shear of the gauge shaft. r=the radius of the main shaft. r'=the radius of the gauge shaft. Z=the length of the section. G=the modulus of shear of the main shaft. G'=the modulus of shear of the gauge shaft.

Accordingly, by ascertaining the radii r and r of the two shafts and also their noduli of shear G and G, the maximum shear of the main shaft can readily be computed from Equation 10 after measuring the shear S's of the gauge shaft.

If it should happen that the gauge shaft is not so negligibly small compared with the main shaft as to absorb a negligible amount of shear, the shear which is absorbed by the gauge shaft may be accounted for according to the equation T=T1+T2+Mb (11) where T=the main shaft torque T1=the main shaft torque in length l T2=the gauge shaft torque Mb=the bending moment or modulus of shear of the gauge shaft. Then S, 1r1 8 37711 T- 2 2 L G1R1 (12) G17! T9 6EgA T 1+ z (13) where T=main shaft torque SS=maximum shear stress of main shaft Ss1=shear stress of main shaft in length L Ssz=shear stress of gauge shaft r1=radius of main shaft rz=radius of gauge shaft L=length of section G1=modulusof shear of the main shaft Gz=modulus of shear of the gauge shaft E2=m0du1us of elasticity of the gauge shaft A=distance of gauge shaft from center of main shaft.

In Fig. 2 there is shown a practical application of my invention to a rotating shaft on which torque is applied. The gauge rod or shaft 13 is attached to the rotating main shaft 10 by brackets l4 and 15 adapted to be firmly tightened around the shaft l0 by clamp bolts IS. The gauge element I3 is inserted into bores IT in the ends of the brackets and firmly held by suitable means such as set screws 18. By this arrangement the shaft I3 is normally held parallel to the shaft Ill.

The twist produced in shaft I3 by torque on the shaft I0 is measured electrically by means of a coil l9 placed around shaft [3, and the leads 20 and 2| from the coil are led through a cable 22. As has been explained in application Serial No. 551,598, the change of stress produced in the gauge element l3 will change its permeability which will produce a corresponding change of inductance of coil I 9.

shaft '13 and provided with a coil 24 similar to -coil l9. The leads 25 and 26 from coil 24 are also 'led'out through cable 22.

Rod 23 is maintained unstraineol while rod l3is being strained because the rod23 isheld by the set screws '1 8 at only one end and rests free at the other end within a bore 3|, which is larger than the rod :diameter.

' I prefer to connect the leads 2! and 26 together,

which will result in only three leads being taken from the shaft. To take these three leadsfrom the'shaft there may be provided three slip rings 21, 28 andz 9 provided with corresponding brushes 21A, 28A, and 29A from which the leads are taken through cable 30.

' Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken'at line 3 -3'of Fig. 2, andshow's the relative position of thetwo shafts, l3 and 23.

If desired, the arrangement need not necessarily be limited to two shafts, but instead, a greater number of shafts might be used. Fig. 4, for example, shows a cross-sectional view taken at the same place as the'cross-section of Fig. 3, in which the system utilizes four-shafts 32, 33, 34 and 35. Each shaft has its own coil, these coils beingnumbered 36, 31,38 and 39 respectively. Two of the four shafts,

for example, shafts 33 and 34, may be fixed at both endsin the manner of shaft l3;. and the other two shafts, 32 and 35, may be left free at one end in the same manner as shaft 23. To make the electrical measurement, the coils 31 and 38 around the fixed shafts may be connected in 1 series, and the other two coils, 36 and 39, may be connected in series. In this way the arrangement will be similar'to the two-coil arrangements of Fig. 2.

' Fig. 5 shows a modification of the construc- "tionof'Fig. 2 in which the gauge shaft is adapted for mounting on differentsized power shafts. In

Fig. 5, themounting bracket on the main shaft,

instead of being of fixed diametersuchas the appear in the figure, these being the chains 42,

"43 and 44. 'Each chain is terminated by an upper terminal pin 45 and a lower'terminal pin 46, these terminal pins being passed through respective slots or holes 41 and 48 of the mounting'members.

Nuts' 49 and 53 are threaded to the ends of the terminal pins at the outside of "the mounting members. 49 and 55,- thereby' drawing the terminal: pin within theinounting members; the chain can be By screwing down on all of the nuts effectively shortened as described, and in this way. the bracket members can be made to fit tightly on shafts varying over a considerable range 'in diameter.

. The gauge shafts 13 and '23 may be fastened to the upper or lower mounting members 40 or 4! as-shown. Iffour such shafts are used, as shown in Fig. 4, two of them will bein'the upper mounting. member and two in the lower mounting member. The mounting bracket.arrangementcorre:

spending to. the bracket for support [5 of Fig. 2 .can'be the same as that shown in Fig. 5.

When the shaft l3 is stressed, its permeability correspondingly varies. Fig. 6 illustrates curves :of. flux: density (B) versus magnetizing. force. or

ampere turns 6-H). ion a *steel body lsuchxas :the

rod l3 of'Fig; 2,*of ordinarysteel when subjected to torsion stress. when not subjected'ito any stress, the B H. curive is asindicatedby curve (a). When the torsion load is, applied,- the permeance becomes decreased, producing less flux densityior a giv en magnetizing force, and the -B--'-H curve is accordingto curve b, which is be-- low curve a. For further increase in torsion load,

-- the B'H curve drops further as illustrated by curves 0 and d, curve (1 being Ifor more loadthan curve 0.

Because of the change of inductance attending a c-h'ange'of' permeability, an indication of the stress irrthe gauge rod 13, can be had by comparing the inductance of coil 19 with the inductance ofthe' coil 24 on'the. unstrained rod 23.

'Preferably'the two coils l9 and 23 are made identicalso that in the absence of stress on rod IS, the inductance of the two coils is the same and should-"balance each. other. The presence of strain inrod l3, however, changes inductance 19', thereby producing 'an unbalance between the two inductances. This unbalance can be measured by comparing the inductance between-terminal 25a and 26a"with' that between terminal 25a and 26a, corresponding: respectively to terminals 20, 26and'25 of the coils.

A convenient way of measuring the inductance difference or unbalance-is shown in Fig. 7 which is a" bridge type circuit like that shown in my Fig; 4 of pending application Serial No. 551,598. The bridge comprises the four bridge'arm's R1, R2, L1 andLz. Ll andLz representthe coils l9 and 24 respectively; and R1 and R2 are fixed impedances', preferably non-inductive resistances. When L1 is made equal to L2 in inductance, in the absence of load, which is the relationship I prefer, the impedances R1 and R2 should be equal in order that the bridge shall substantially balance under-the condition of no load on rod I 3.

A' source of constant amplitude alternating voltage 5I,'for example a 60 cycle supply line, is connected 'a cro'ssthe output terminals 52 and 53 of the bridge, preferably through a non-inductive resistor. R3. The output terminals 54 and 55 of the bridge are led to terminals 56 and 51 of a double pole, double throw switch S, the switch arms 58 and 59 of which are connected across a series-arranged resistor R4 and galvanometer "60. The other two terminals 6! and 62 of. the

switch are connected across" resistor R3. By throwing the switch arm 58 and 59 to switch t'erminals'56 and 51, the resistor R4 and g'alva nometer 60. are connected across the output of the bridge; and throwing the switch arm the other way connects R4 and galvanometer 50 across. resistor R3.

The use of the switch will not always be necessary. It is mainly convenient for switching either the bridge output .or a reference voltage from across resistor R3 across the indicator. If .desired, the switch could be dispensed with, and theindicator 60 connected directly to the output terminals of the bridge.

With the switch thrown to connect the galvanometer across the bridge output, there will be substantially no current through the galvanometer in the absence of a load on the test rod is, since the bridge .is substantially balanced under this condition. When the gauge element [3 is loaded, however, the bridge will become unbalanced due to the change ininductance of L1 produced by the change in-permeance of its core l3; and this unbalance will comprise both an amplitude and a phase unbalanced. The degree of the unbalance, and hence the load on the rod 13, are indicated by the reading on the galvanometer.

A calibration may be made for the gauge so that the indicator reading may be translated directly into torsion loads on the gauge rod I3. I prefer to use for the galvanometer 60 a galvanometer of the well known dynamometer type. This type comprises a fixed coil and a movable coil having attached to it an indicating member. The terminals of the movable coil are connected at 63 and 64 of Fig. 7, and the fixed coil has impressed on it an alternating reference voltage which should be of the same frequency as the frequency of source 5|.

A convenient manner of adjusting and calibrating a dynamometer type of instrument for this purpose is described in more detail in my copending application, Serial No. 551,598.

It is not necessary to use the permeability indicator described in connection with Fig. '7 in order to obtain indications of the torsion stress on the gauge rod. Some other convenient form of indicator might be used instead if desired. Fig. 8 shows, for example, a strain gauge type of indicator applied to the rod under stress. In Fig. 8 there is shown a portion of each of the rods I3 and 23 of Fig. 2. A wire strain gauge is applied to each of these rods in a well known manner. The strain gauge applied to rod I3 comprises a length of fine wire 65, carried back and forth a number of times as shown, and laid flat against the surface of the rod. A suitable wax or cement is applied to this wire arrangement so as to maintain the wire against the surface. When the surface of the rod is strained as indicated by Fig. 1a, the strain gauge wire is also strained, for example, in tension or compression, producing a change of resistance in the wire in a well known manner which can be measured by measuring its resistance. This change in resistance can be ascertained in a well known manner, for example, by balancing the resistance of strain gauge 65 against another resistance, in a bridge circuit. For convenience, this other comparison resistance may be another strain gauge such as strain gauge 68 applied to the other rod 23 in the same manner that strain gauge 65 is applied to rod l3. Strain gauge 68 will remain unstrained, and therefore be a constant resistance while strain gauge 65 is undergoing strain.

It will be recognized that by my invention I have provided a convenient and effective means for measuring the torsion force on a shaft on which it might otherwise be very inconvenient to make the measurement. By applying my gauge rod or shaft to the power shaft or other shaft under test, I do not have to obtain any calibration of the power shaft, but simply may have the gauge shaft calibrated to particular type of indicator used on the gauge shaft.

I claim:

1. Means for indicating the angular twist of a shaft subject to torque, comprising a auge rod having a cross section of the same shape as the cross section of the shaft, means for fastening the gauge rod at two separated points to the shaft in a position parallel to the longitudinal axis of the shaft and spaced from the shaft, the length of the gauge rod between said separated points being the same as the length of the shaft between said points, and means connected to the gauge rod and unconnected to the shaft measuring the amount of twist on the gauge 8 rod between said points when torque is applied to the shaft. I

2. Means for indicating the stress which a shaft undergoes when subjected to torque, comprising a gauge rod of magnetic material, means for fastening the gauge rod at two separated points to the shaft in a position parallel to the longitudinal axis on the shaft and spaced from the shaft so that the twist of the shaft results in corresponding twist of the gauge rod, and a change of perineability of the gauge rod between said points, an inductance coil inductively related to the gauge rod between said points, and means for measuring the change of inductance of the coil due to the change of permeability of the gauge rod when torque is applied to the shaft.

3. In combination with a shaft of circular cross section subjected to torque, a gauge rod of circular cross section and having the same modulus of elasticity as the shaft, said rod being mounted parallel to the shaft at a spaced distance from it and rigidly fastened at two separated places to the shaft, the length of the gauge rod between said separated places being the same as the length of the shaft between said separated places and means for measuring the twist of the gauge rod between said two places when torque is applied to the shaft.

4. In combination, a rotatable shaft subjected to torque, a gauge rod of magnetic material fastened to the shaft at two separated places and held parallel to the longitudinal aXis of the shaft and spaced from the shaft so that the twist of the shaft results in corresponding twist and change of permeability of the gauge rod between said places, an inductance coil inductively related to the gauge rod between said places, slip ring means mounted on the shaft and brushes in contact with the slip rings, the terminals of the coil being connected with respective ones of the slip rings, whereby the changeof inductance of the coil due to the change of permeability when the shaft is subjected to torque and the gauge rod is stressed accordingly, can be indicated by connecting indicating means to the brushes.

5. Means for indicating the stress which a shaft undergoes when subjected to torque, which comprises a plurality of gauge rods, means for fastening said gauge rods to said shaft in a position parallel to the longitudinal axis of said shaft and spaced from said shaft, one-half of said gauge rods being rigidly fastened at both ends thereof, the other half of said gauge rods being free to avoid twisting movement induced by the torque on said shaft, an inductance coil inductively related to each of said plurality of gauge rods and means for comparing the inductance of the coils related to said one half of said gauge rods rigidly fastened at both ends thereof with the inductance of the coils related to said other half of said gauge rods.

6. Means for indicating stress which a shaft undergoes when subjected to torque which comprises two gauge rods of magnetically permeable material, means for fastening said gauge rods in spaced relationship to said shaft in a position parallel to the longitudinal axis of said shaft, one of said gauge rods being rigidly fastened at both ends thereof so as to undergo the same twisting movement as said shaft, the other of said gauge rods being free to avoid said twisting movement induced by the torque on said shaft, an inductance coil inductively related to each of said two gauge rods, and a means for comparing the inductance of the coil related to one of said gauge rods, with the inductance of the coil related to the other of said gauge rods.

'7. Means for indicating the angular twist of a shaft subject to torque, said means comprising a gauge rod rigidly fastened to the outside of the shaft at two separated positions of the shaft and parallel to the longitudinal axis of the shaft and measuring means connected to the gauge rod and unconnected to the shaft, which measures the amount of twist of the gauge rod when torque is 1e applied to the shaft.

EDGAR T. HOWES.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the 15 file of this patent:

Number Number 10 UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date FitzGerald Aug. 8, 1922 Muir Sept. 12, 1939 Kuehni Oct. 21, 1941 Langer et a1. Sept. 26, 1944 Langer Dec. 19, 1944 Ruge Jan. 1, 1946 Gardiner et a1. Aug. 9, 1946 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Great Britain Feb. 3, 1936 Great Britain Mar. 23, 1938 

